Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Sherlock Holmes (1)
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My endless days as a slave—no, as a grad student—were finally over.
Back home, I reflected on those bygone days from the comfort of my room.
Somehow, after voluntarily bowing my head, it had been one grueling day after another.
In the early days, I'd helped with the professor's research to hone my own skills.
Fortunately, he was a good man, so I never had any trouble with people.
The only issue was pulling all-nighters so often that I wrecked my looks.
Not just Esili, who I got along with pretty well, but even Pretina started worrying about me.
That Pretina, of all people!
Anyway, aside from those two, I'd spent half a year holed up in the lab, minimizing contact with everyone else.
One day, the professor took a look at my personal research and dropped a bombshell.
"I'll back you. Go all out."
It was the first time I'd seen that look on his face.
His eyes sparkled like he'd unearthed heaven's greatest treasure, and his breathing got kinda creepy.
I even considered just bolting right then.
"Now that's a memory."
After that, things got a little weird between me and the professor.
He became my loyal dog—er, he helped with my research and provided support.
He even made sure I could focus solely on my work.
And that gave birth to the mana storage device.
I'd gotten the idea from batteries—it could store mana.
Human progress has always started with storage, preservation, and abundant resources.
So I figured if we could store mana, the possibilities would be endless.
Sure, there were magic stones dropped by magical beasts or mana beasts already.
"But those are hard to get and single-use."
In the end, I nailed mass production and made it a solid replacement for magic stones.
I'd originally named it a battery, but somewhere along the line, it became known as a mana crystal.
Probably the professor's doing.
But I didn't stop there.
If I'd made a battery, I needed a way to generate the energy to fill it!
Mana had always only been available from magic stones or mages.
Harvesting natural mana without them was a pipe dream.
But why was that impossible?
That's when I came up with the mana collector.
I drew inspiration from Earth's carbon capture tech and lightning generators.
Carbon capture pulls carbon straight from the air, plain and simple.
The lightning generator hit me mid-development, thanks to suddenly recalling Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela, where lightning strikes endlessly.
Of course, lightning that hits the ground is useless in practice, but mana was different.
Like radiation, it pools in one spot—helpful in small doses, deadly in large ones.
So places thick with mana were straight-up contamination zones.
In simple terms, it was a generator that harvested mana from those polluted areas for use.
The problem? Neither the professor nor I were powerhouse mages.
So I whipped up hazmat suits that could withstand the contamination zones.
But the real issue was the magical beasts and mana beasts living there.
Magical beasts, as everyone knows, are born from mana.
Naturally, ones born in mana-rich spots are even stronger.
Mana beasts are ordinary animals that awaken after prolonged exposure to high mana levels.
Sometimes they're even tougher than magical beasts.
Long story short, contamination zones are insanely dangerous.
"Tch, this won't cut it."
That's how the mana engine was born.
I got the idea from mana conversion theory.
The professor had even borrowed it for his wireless communication theory.
Simple explanation:
Mana can be converted into elements like fire, water, or wind via magic formulas.
It's like substituting mana for one of the world's laws.
So why not the reverse?
When I first brought it up, the professor shook his head.
Mana was irreversible, he said.
But who am I?
The guy who invented the battery—no, mana crystal.
How do you know without trying?
After endless research, I overturned the established theory.
Proving mana wasn't irreversible.
"A g-god has appeared!"
"P-Professor?! Calm down!"
He caused a bit of a scene, but we got it done anyway.
It only worked in very specific environments, but that was fine.
We weren't moving it around—just planting it in one spot.
That led to facilities that could charge mana crystals.
Later, building on that, I made the magic stone/mana crystal engine.
Think of it like Earth's gasoline engines.
Just burns magic stones or mana crystals instead.
For the record, I made this while developing carriage suspensions on the side.
Carriages were so uncomfortable I tried making them comfier, then pivoted to straight-up cars.
Coachmen became drivers thanks to that.
I came up with plenty of other theories and inventions too.
"But I gave up in the end."
My ultimate goal was returning to Earth.
That required spatial research, and there was zilch.
Forget spatial magic—spatial studies were rare as hen's teeth.
Still in the Middle Ages, maybe?
Or just niche?
Either way, no progress meant starting from scratch.
Even artifacts—supposed divine relics made by dwarves—had nothing on it.
Hit a wall quick and quit.
I wasn't magically gifted anyway, so it worked out.
"No enlightenment, no inner realm— what business do I have with magic?"
Anyway, that's all in the past now.
I'd finished that marathon somehow; time to look ahead.
"What now?"
Lounging in my room back home was fun for a bit.
Can't play deadbeat forever, though.
Even watching the farmers like when I was a kid got old.
It was great back then, but now? Meh.
"Hmm, come to think of it, the reason I went to the professor was..."
A memory surfaced, and I drifted into thought.
I rummaged through my mind, recalling the days before kneeling to him.
Smartphones—couldn't I advance civilization with those?
"Maybe I should write."
No rule says progress has to be science and engineering, right?
Plus, I'd mass-produced paper and printing tech already.
"Alright, let's do it."
I shot up from bed, forced down my excited grin, and got moving.
At my desk, I dipped a quill in ink and started jotting ideas on spare paper.
I listed works that came to mind, pondering which to pick.
"Don Quixote, Sherlock Holmes, Crime and Punishment, Brave New World. Hmm, Greek and Roman myths?"
Plenty more popped up.
But I couldn't decide easily.
I didn't know what people here would like.
Not expecting a smash hit on the first try, but I didn't want to flop either.
Of course, there's a no-brainer option.
Just write the knight stories everyone's obsessed with lately.
"But that doesn't appeal."
After agonizing, I narrowed it to two.
"Tch, picked Sherlock Holmes and Don Quixote, but..."
Sherlock Holmes.
The foundation of modern detective fiction, basis for that famous kid detective too.
It was a massive hit when serialized.
Heck, fans rioted when Sherlock died, demanding the author bring him back.
Next, Don Quixote.
Made to satirize the trendy knight tales.
But to satirize them, you gotta know them—ironically making the author a fan.
"On the surface, Don Quixote."
Knight stories exist here too.
But...
"Sherlock Holmes pulls me more."
Guess I'm a science guy at heart.
Even in literature, the analytical stuff draws me in.
Sherlock Holmes is basically a modern forensic science novel.
Half-driven by his freakish talents, sure.
"Alright. Let's write."
I dove straight into the first volume.
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Writing a book was tougher than I thought.
I didn't remember the content perfectly, and parts needed tweaking for this era.
Good thing I'd advanced the tech enough to avoid a total rewrite.
Otherwise, I'd have quit halfway.
"Good enough. Not perfect, but it'll do."
Now to find a publisher.
Big ones might reject it; tiny ones might not promote at all.
After some thought, I wrote a letter.
Basically: Publish this, pretty please? Review enclosed.
I bundled the manuscript and had a servant deliver it.
A few days later...
"Young master. A reply from Jenectra Publishing House."
Biena, the servant who'd come to my room, bowed quietly.
Technically a maid, but I called them all servants to avoid mix-ups.
She looked up, her usual calm face coming into view.
At a glance, she had an Esili vibe, but they were worlds apart.
Esili seemed naturally sweet; Biena was all business.
If Esili was cat-dog hybrid, Biena was pure cat.
Brown-furred cat, that is.
Suited me just fine.
I swiveled my chair to face her directly.
"Yeah? What'd they say?"
"A positive response. They'll start first print run in a few days."
Oh, nice.
I closed the book I'd been reading and got more details from her.
The boss liked the writing, apparently.
That gave me some real confidence.
A guy who's seen tons of books got hooked—what's that mean?
The book's got appeal.
"Phew, relief."
"...Young master, could I read it too?"
Read it?
Guess she'd gotten curious running my errands.
Probably seeing the boss rave about it sparked interest.
I pretended to think it over, then handed her the manuscript.
Biena eyed the pages, looking mildly surprised—rare for her.
"...I meant after the first print."
"Nah, it's fine. Printing takes time, and reading a manuscript ain't easy."
She glanced between the pages and me, then took them carefully.
Standing right there, she started flipping through and reading.
I fetched a chair so I wouldn't bother her; she sat.
An hour passed like that.
I spent it pondering my next work.
"All done."
"Already?"
"Yes."
She reads fast.
When I looked up from the paper, I caught something amazing.
Biena, always so composed and unreadable, looked subtly excited.
I stifled a grin threatening to break free.
"What'd you think?"
"...It was fun. Especially the shock when the new incident hit mid-story. And Holmes finding the key to solving it right away."
That part stuck with her, huh.
Yeah, it could hit like a gut punch.
Like throwing dirt on a finished meal?
...Nah, not quite.
More like stale food to fresh-cooked?
Eh, still off.
Anyway, I'd reeled in my first reader and satisfied her—couldn't help smiling.
Biena, cheeks faintly flushed, said,
"I had no idea you had this kind of talent, young master."
"Haha, yeah. Think it'll be popular?"
"Yes. Once someone reads it, they'll be hooked."
That good?
Was the servant in her buttering me up, or speaking as a genuine reader?
Her face didn't scream lies, though.
Biena wouldn't fib anyway.
I decided to trust her word.
A few days later, I was shocked for a whole different reason.